Now police spend £20m on probing corruption abroad
(but won’t even investigate burglary at home)
POLICE have set up a £20million unit to investigate Third World corruption – while refusing to investigate domestic burglaries here.
An International Corruption Unit (ICU) has been established to probe bribery and money laundering involving developing nations.
It will be based in the National Crime Agency – known as ‘Britain’s FBI’.
But the new funding from Britain’s ballooning aid budget will raise questions about spending priorities.
Last week one of the country’s top officers sparked disbelief when she said burglary victims should email evidence to police so officers do not have to attend the crime scene.
Sara Thornton, head of the body that represents chief constables, said the public should be allowed to upload photographs on to ‘digital crime reports’ to speed up the police response.
She also suggested burglary victims may not always be vis- ited at home because cashstrapped forces are prioritising other crimes.
It also emerged last week that one police force was refusing to investigate attempted burglaries if the victims live in a house with an odd number.
Sources at the Department for International Development (DfID) defended spending on the unit, saying it showed funding from aid money could be diverted to important domestic concerns.
The new unit will be set up from separate investigation teams in the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police. Officials said it would become the central point for investigating international corruption in the UK, including money siphoned off by corrupt politicians. The 35-strong unit will also go after lawyers, bankers and accountants who help move money and hide it from the authorities.
The unit was launched yesterday by International Development Secretary Justine Green- ing. She said: ‘Corruption is not only picking the pockets of the poor, it is an enemy of prosperity and a brake on a country’s development.
‘Through the International Corruption Unit, the best of British law enforcement will step up our aid work combating corruption head-on across the developing world.’
Det Superintendent Jon Benton, joint head of the ICU, said: ‘The work we’re doing is absolutely vital for helping countries get back what is rightfully theirs.
‘The message to individuals and companies who see developing countries as fair game is that the UK has zero tolerance for overseas bribery and corruption.’
Police units funded by DfID have investigated more than 150 cases of overseas bribery since 2006. They have also recovered some £200million of stolen assets and made 27 successful prosecutions.
Britain’s foreign-aid spending came under fire earlier this year when it emerged that the Foreign Office had spent money on projects abroad such as tickets for plays and computer lessons. It led to a review to make sure aid spending was ‘wise’.
Last year the Foreign Office spent more than £2,000 on tickets for Hamlet for schoolchildren in Haiti, claiming the production would ‘ promote UK culture’, while a further £5,000 went on Hamlet workshops in Ecuador.
A project to promote ‘safe and responsible’ use of Facebook in Laos, south-east Asia, cost £ 970, and more than £13,000 was budgeted for an Ethiopian game show.